Poignant, punctilious ... More than a character study. There are reams of gorgeous sentences, even if Lombardo occasionally indulges a sweet tooth for adverbs. She refashions domestic drama into something rich and strange, with echoes of Lorrie Moore’s sardonic humor and Jonathan Franzen’s dissection of class ... Brilliant.
Astute and often moving ... Julia’s to-ing and fro-ing, her determination to detonate, grow a bit wearisome layered over 500 pages. But Ms. Lombardo’s psychological acuity and her compassion for her characters amply reward attention.
This is a big novel, engaging enough to entertain you through the summer and thoughtful enough to justify its considerable heft. While many novels are too long, Same as It Ever Was takes full advantage of its 500 pages to traverse the whole life of Julia Ames, a woman who makes peace with motherhood slowly and haphazardly ... Witty, sympathetic ... Carefully structured ...
Lombardo has such a fine eye for the weft and warp of a family’s fabric. She understands the chemistry of that special epoxy of irritation and affection that keeps a marriage glued together. One finishes Same as It Ever Was with the satisfaction of knowing this complicated woman well — and the poignant disappointment of having to say goodbye.
Lombardo is a great fan of flashbacks; her preferred narrative ploy is to dangle hints of past upsets, which are gradually revealed by jumping back in time. While this builds suspense, it also leads to frequent repetitions. By the time the novel returns to Julia’s school years, we’ve already got the basic gist (excepting one particularly dark revelation). Repetition – along with excessive detail – also bloated Lombardo’s hefty first novel. Same As It Ever Was is another 500-pager that would be stronger if it were significantly shorter. That said, Lombardo is a writer who lavishes attention on her characters. ... a fine-grained portrait of a woman determined to learn how to be a mother, wife, daughter – and person. It builds to a moving climax, encompassing along the way unexpected weddings, funerals, reconciliations, and losses.
Engaging ... Lombardo loves her characters, taking time to peel back each of their layers through the time-lapse structure of the novel and her rich descriptions. Her depiction of the Chicago suburbs is also lovely. A sure bet for fans of Richard Russo and Jane Smiley.
Claire Lombardo dives deeply into her characters’ lives to mine the family dynamics that shaped them ... An engrossing story of maternal complexity and a reminder of the myriad ways the past can quietly inform the present.
